Free Must Be Magic by Lani Aames Page A

made her any promises. They’d known each other a little over
twenty-four hours.
    So why
did it hurt so much?
    With
tears scalding her cheeks, Kerry ran inside long enough to grab her purse. She
ran through the gates and locked them behind her. Behind the wheel of her car,
she swiped tears away as she stabbed at the ignition.
    Myghal
was gone.

Chapter Thirteen
    “Lady Kerry,” the Gnome said with
bowed head as he removed his cap. “I am Gomit, your humble servant.”
    Kerry stumbled back in surprise.
She bumped into the side of the small front building. She blinked at the little
man who was dressed just like the taller garden Gnome statues she had for sale.
    Myghal leaving her must have
cracked her mind. She’d spent a sleepless, restless night, her body enflamed
with need and aching for Myghal. She’d come to work, hoping to find him here,
that he’d wandered away for some reason and got lost but somehow found his way
back again. But he hadn’t been here when she arrived, her eyes red and swollen
from weeping, and he didn’t show up all day. She’d resigned herself to the fact
that Myghal had gotten what he wanted until a better offer came along. Namely,
the leggy brunette.
    The day had dragged by. She’d
been about to go home when the garden Gnome introduced himself to her. Kerry
didn’t know whether to scream or run. All she could manage was a whimper. The
Gnome continued talking.
    “’Tis regretful I am to inform
you that his royal highness, Prince Myghal, has been captured by a despicable
Troll.”
    “Wh-Wh—” Kerry clamped her lips
together and swallowed hard. The little man dressed like a Gnome spoke English,
and she heard every word he said, but none of it made sense. Servant, royalty,
captured… Prince Myghal? “Wh-What are you t-talking about?” she was finally
able to sputter. “Wh-Who are you?”
    “Gomit,
at your service. ‘Tis a shock, I understand. Prince Myghal hadn’t a chance to
tell you everything, indeed. I—”
    “Why
are you calling him prince ?” Kerry was surprised she was able to speak a
whole sentence without stopping to catch her breath. “What is he prince of? And
by captured, do you mean he’s been kidnapped?”
    “Aye,
Lady Kerry.”
    “Oh.”
She breathed easy for the first time since she’d found Myghal gone. But she
immediately tightened up again. She shouldn’t feel relief. He hadn’t left her,
but had been kidnapped.
    “’Tis sorry I am to admit my part
in the deed, but my liege, General Gorgicz, instructed this worthless servant
to play along with the Troll but to thwart him at the first opportunity.”
    “General Gorg—And a Troll.” Kerry
pressed against the brick.
    The
Gnome seemed harmless enough and subservient enough, but she had yet to wrap
her mind around the fact that one of her Gnome statues had come to life. No,
that was impossible. The Gnome just happened to look like the statues
because…well, because he was a Gnome. And he was telling a wild tale about a
man who might be a prince that she had just met and fallen head over heels in
lust with two days ago.
    What
was she supposed to do? Stand here and listen to a Gnome? Yes, because he said
Myghal had been kidnapped.
    “’Tis a
long story, Lady, and time is of the essence, if I understand the Prince’s
situation correctly. If you please, I’ll tell you what I know.”
    Kerry
drew in a deep, shaky breath. “It would please me greatly. If you’ll come in
the greenhouse, you can tell me all about it.”
    Gomit
followed behind her, cap still in hand. She glanced back at him while she led
the way, but he was doing nothing more than pumping his short legs to keep up
with her. She slowed her walk the rest of the way.
    Inside,
she flipped on the lights. She went to her desk and fell into her chair. She
hadn’t realized how weak her legs were until that moment. She offered him the
extra chair and he climbed into the seat.
    “Maybe
you should start at the beginning,” Kerry